As Shiro and Noke move ahead, they spy a pair of bears with white fur and bony growths ambling towards them from behind the shrine. Perhaps they were drawn by the sounds of the dogs by the sleds, but as the pairs spot each other, the bears snarl and roar aggressively rearing up on their hind legs to a height twice the size of a regular human!
These look similar to polar bears, but not like any you've seen before.
These are dire polar bears, massive apex predators of the north. They have a fierce bite and can grab their unlucky prey with a swipe of their massive paws.
Round 1! Bold may act!
Narika
Shiro
Kiku
Yojimbo
Noke
Edgar
Red
Blue
Hamish
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Slogging forward through the snow, Edgar holds out his holy symbol. "Pharasma, grant me your love and protection!"
Suddenly, a small bone appears and begins to orbit the man. "Allen, you're better off in my coat for now. Just relax."
You animate a bone with necromantic energy, giving it the power to float near your body and interpose itself against physical attacks. This gives you damage reduction 5/bludgeoning. Once the bone has prevented a total of 5 points of damage per caster level (maximum 50 points), it is destroyed and the spell is discharged. This spell has no effect if you have damage reduction from another source.
DR 5/Bludgeoning - lasts 7hrs or 35 points prevented - whichever occurs first
The bear tries to close its eyes against the glitter...
...but it can't blink fast enough and roars as it tosses its head back and forth. The other bear growls and rushes towards Narika, growling in her face even as Shiro's rope dart whizzes through the air.
The blinded bear paws at its face and wipes enough glitter from its eyes to see again as Hamish moves forward and extols his fellow Pathfinders onward!
Round 2! Bold may act!
Narika
Kiku
Yojimbo
Noke (Flying)
Edgar
Shiro
Red
Blue
Hamish
The roaring abruptly becomes quieter as the leading bear slumps over in the snow and begins snoring. It wakes just as suddenly as Shiro begins punching and kicking it, snuffling as if confused by the sudden turn of events.
Round 2! Bold may act!
Narika
Kiku
Yojimbo
Noke (Flying)
Edgar
Shiro
Red (-66, Prone)
Blue
Hamish
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Moving closer, Edgar smiles. "You guys keep this one busy, I'm gonna make the other one madder."
Pointing at the bear farther away, he mumbles some arcane words and flicks his wrist. A blast of air erupts from beneath the beast, shooting upward!
Spell Link
You create a powerful blast of air capable of flinging an opponent upward. If the target fails its Reflex save, the force of the air deals 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage and hurls the target upward a number of feet equal to 5 × your caster level. If a solid object (such as a ceiling) is encountered, the target strikes the object in the same manner as it would during a normal fall. After this blast of air ceases, the target falls down (unless it was flying), taking falling damage as normal. A successful save means the target takes half damage from the air blast but is not moved by it.
Narika steps back quickly as Yojimbo wallops the bear at her feet. The other bear tries to dodge out of the way of Edgar's sudden wind...
...but it's still trying to wipe glitter off its face and can't react quickly on three legs. Up it flies into the sky, then back down to earth with a thump.
The closer bear gets its feet back underneath it and swipes at Yojimbo with a massive paw...
...but its claws only scratch the phantom's armor. The other bear also gets back on its feet and moves to join its companion.
Round 2, 3! Bold may act!
Narika
Kiku
Yojimbo
Noke (Flying)
Edgar
Shiro
Red (-66)
Blue (-21)
Hamish
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Hamish moves forward and stands in the midst of the group, continueing his encouragement, "well done there spirit, way to keep them away from us and good work keeping him strong Kiku. Fancy spellwork Edgar and Noke, nicely done. Shiro, that's a neat little rope trick you got there."
He speaks a few elvish words and a small red-ish glow envelopes his hand. Putting his feet shoulder width apart and squaring himself to the target, he points a finger towards the closest bear, "learned this trick from a wizard buddy when learning about undead, isn't much against them but can certainly weaken the living... if I can hit."
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"My pleasure good sir Hamish." replies the human, turning his attention to the closer foe. "I do believe Pharasma wishes your fortune to turn..." he grumbles, hand outstretched. As the dark magic assaults the bear, he cackles loudly.
The witch can cause a creature within 30 feet to suffer grave misfortune for 1 round. Anytime the creature makes an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. A Will save negates this hex. At 8th level and 16th level, the duration of this hex is extended by 1 round. This hex affects all rolls the target must make while it lasts. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day.
A witch can cackle madly as a move action. Any creature that is within 30 feet that is under the effects of an agony hex, charm hex, evil eye hex, fortune hex, or misfortune hex caused by the witch has the duration of that hex extended by 1 round.
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Shiro will join Yojimbo in making an opportunity attack against the bear that stood up next to him, as well as attempting to prevent it from moving away. The tengu will unleash a flurry of blows upon said bear, five-foot stepping if needed; if the bear drops he will switch his remaining flurry attacks to his rope dart on the distant bear instead.
Yojimbo and Shiro whack the bear as it stands, but once on its feet the bear proves too quick for the phantom to land more than one blow. The blue bear shakes its head against Noke's hex...
...and swiftly falls asleep, face plowing into the snow. Hamish fires a magical beam, but the fear of hitting Yojimbo causes his aim to swerve away at the last second and shoot harmlessly into the air. Even while asleep, the bear tries to resist Edgar's dark powers...
...but they twist and swirl around it as the man cackles. The first bear evades the monk's first two attacks before finally falling unconscious to the third. Shiro lashes out with his darted rope once more, poking the sleeping bear and bringing it to wakefulness. In the distance, Noke spots a strange giant-creature standing and watching.
Round 3! Bold may act!
Narika
Kiku
Yojimbo
Noke (Flying)
Edgar
Shiro
Red (-127)
Blue (-31, Prone, Misfortuned 1/1)
Hamish
The bear roars in frustration as Narika's beads of force pelter its face, and it staggers to its feet and closer to the Pathfinders before swiping at Yojimbo...
...but it catches only snow.
Round 3! Bold may act!
Newcomer
Narika
Kiku
Yojimbo
Noke (Flying)
Edgar
Shiro
Red (-127)
Blue (-46, Misfortuned 1/1)
Hamish
Hamish is not quick enough to avoid the bear's attention, and it swipes at him...
...but he is quick enough to avoid the blow as he moves around the bear. Even with Kiku's prayers to bolster him, Yojimbo can only land one blow on the beast as it continues to move around and roar.
Round 3! Bold may act!
Newcomer
Narika
Kiku
Yojimbo
Noke (Flying)
Edgar
Shiro
Red (-127)
Blue (-61, Misfortuned 1/1)
Hamish
As Edgar stabilizes the first bear, Shiro brings the other down with a mighty uppercut and two followup kicks.
As the Pathfinders collect themselves, the strange creature approaches. "Det er å drepe eller bli drept i dette frosne landet, men du synes ikke å vite dette," it says. "Hva ville bringe slike reisende fra de varme, myke landene?"
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Hamish smiles as well with no weapon out and shrugs as he asks the creature in common, "Do you speak Common?"
If no answer he tries Elven, "Puhutko Elven?"
Finally, if no answer to that he tries his last option in Halfling, "Spreekt u Halfling?"
If no luck he'll turn to his allies, back in common, "I'm outta options, but I do have a scroll of share language if we can convince them to let us cast on them."
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Kiku pulls out a scroll of tongues and activates it with her Mnemonic Vestment, expending her daily use of the vestment instead of the scroll.
Kiku bows then clears her throat. The harsh sounds of giant seem incredibly odd coming from the retiring girl's voice.
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Shiro checks if the other bear is alive, and if it is bleeding out asks Edgar to stabilize the other one as well.
The tengu listens politely at the interchange between the creature and Hamish, and almost literally jumps away startled into a tree when Kiku's voice does the volume/tone change. He takes several moments to collect himself and straighten his tail feathers while observing the creature.
The creature looks puzzled and slightly annoyed at Hamish, but nods as Kiku replies in the same language. "Hvis du ikke har kommet for å overleve, lille Kiku," he says solemnly, "hvorfor er du her?"
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Noke casts detect magic and scans the area thoroughly.
She then looks at her companions.
B]”I have no idea what you are discussing at the moment but I think it is essential that we explain thoroughly what we have found because these beings obviously had something to do with the first encounter with this evil that tries to escape now!“[/b]
Noke flies nearer. Maybe sign and body language?! she thinks.
”EVIL UNDER ICE! ESCAPES! YOU SEALED! NOW SEAL BROKEN!“
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Kiku jumps at Noke's shouting. She quickly turns around and holds a finger to her mouth.
"Shh! Just let me know what to say. No need to shout."
She turns back to the giant and bows again. It has become abundantly clear from traveling with Kiku that she bows a lot, almost as much of a reflex as her constant apologizing.
"Jeg beklager min følgesvenn hvis hun skremmer deg. Det er et stort onde under isen som en gang var forseglet, men utenforstående har ødelagt det med uvitenhet. Til våre skam er disse utenforstående medlemmer av organisasjonen vår. Vi har kommet for å sikre at det som en gang ble forseglet, er så igjen. Vi er her for å rette opp feilene våre."
"My apologies for my companion if she startled you. There is a great evil under the ice that was once sealed, but outsiders have broken it with their ignorance. To our shame, those outsiders are members of our organization. We have come to see to it that what was once sealed is so again. We are here to correct our mistakes."
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Watching the back and forth, Edgar smiles. "Quite handy to have the ability to communicate. Myself, I've sought out numerous tongues...alas his was not one of them."
"Since he's not attack, I'm guessing he's not opposed to our presence. Does he have any knowledge or advice for the situation at hand?"
Noke does not detect anything magical besides her companions as she swoops down to join the conversation.
The creature scowls at Noke's yelling, then turns his attention back to Kiku. He returns her bow with a nod of his head before becoming agitated at her explanation. "Tetningen er ødelagt? Hvorfor ville du gjøre en slik tåpelig ting? Utenlandske og deres uvitenhet!" he snorts angrily. "Det forbannede stedet er ikke her, men du må ha kjent så mye. Hvorfor er du her?" He thumps the ground for emphasis.
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Kiku merely hangs her head as the giant expresses his anger. She glances to her companions and motions for them to remain standing down, that everything is under control.
”Jeg beklager på det sterkeste. Vi er på vei til nettstedet for å selge det igjen, og vi ble fortalt om dette helligdommen av en av landsbyboerne, en mann som heter Bjørn, som hjalp oss med hundene og sledene. Vi har kommet for å gi et tilbud. Ekspedisjonen forårsaket en katastrofe ved å lade inn uten å vise riktig respekt. Vi ville ikke gjøre den feilen igjen.”
"Du kan vise respekt når ondskapet er forseglet igjen," the stranger replies with a frown. "Det er mange måner unna - du trenger de små ulvene til å løpe raskt." He folds his arms across his chest and scowls at the Pathfinders.
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Kiku glances over her shoulder at Poe. "I did, Mr. Poe. He is very concerned about the sealed evil, and already knew of it."
Kiku appears surprised by the giant's response, and she takes a moment to consider it, tapping her thumb against her chin.
"Vi har allerede sendt en messenge ved ugle til folket på stedet med instruksjoner om hvordan man begynner å omleisse isen. Kanskje vi kunne forlate et tilbud og forlate, siden vi allerede er her? Det virker synd å komme hele veien og ikke tilby noe. Hvor lang tid tar det å gi et riktig tilbud?"
"We already sent a messenge by owl to the people at the site with instructions on how to begin resealing the ice. That was many days ago, before we left for this shrine, so they should already have begun fixing the seal. Maybe we could give an offering and then leave, since we are already here? It seems a shame to come all this way and offer nothing. How long does it take to give a proper offering?"
The creature scowls softly at Kiku, his short temper obviously mollified by her gentleness and sincerity. "Du sørger og seremoniene dine. La dine offer på alteret og skynd deg. Jeg bryr meg ikke om dine ritualer, bare dine handlinger." He shakes his head. "Når du kommer til landsbyen, må du sørge for at runen er ubeskadiget. Det vil se slik ut," he continues, pointing to one of the patterns decorating his chest and looking intently at Kiku. "Forstår du?"
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"He wants us to hurry to the site and fix it as soon as possible. I will double check to make sure that we can pass without difficulty."
Kiku takes a moment to try to figure out the most diplomatic way to articulate her companions' questions.
"Takk. Vi vil huske. Jeg tilbeder de empyrale herrer, og Winlas, den guddommelige eldste, ville bli misfornøyd hvis jeg ikke klarte å utføre et tilbud. Vi vil virkelig hjelpe. Vil vi være i stand til å reise til Nettstedet uten å bli angrepet? Eller kanskje du vet en raskere måte å reise på? Eventuelt hjelp du kan gi er verdsatt, men ikke forventet. Vi forårsaket dette rotet når alt kommer til alt. Vi vil bare hjelpe oss med å løse det så raskt som mulig."